Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s
Between 1939 and 1944, the City of Reykjavík in Iceland built a geothermal district heating utility that enabled the inhabitants to transition from coal to geothermal heating. One of the promises that geothermal proponents made to the inhabitants was that the utility would relieve the housewives of...
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Online Access: | https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/3c80d32b-f409-42a1-97b1-11b972f7de2e http://www.energyhistory.eu/en/special-issue/relieving-housewife-gender-and-promise-geothermal-district-heating-reykjavik-1930s |
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ftumaastrichtcri:oai:cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl:publications/3c80d32b-f409-42a1-97b1-11b972f7de2e 2023-05-15T16:49:45+02:00 Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s Melsted, Odinn 2021-08-26 https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/3c80d32b-f409-42a1-97b1-11b972f7de2e http://www.energyhistory.eu/en/special-issue/relieving-housewife-gender-and-promise-geothermal-district-heating-reykjavik-1930s eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Melsted , O 2021 , ' Relieving the Housewife : Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s ' , Journal of Energy History , no. 6 . < http://www.energyhistory.eu/en/special-issue/relieving-housewife-gender-and-promise-geothermal-district-heating-reykjavik-1930s > article 2021 ftumaastrichtcri 2022-07-19T09:19:45Z Between 1939 and 1944, the City of Reykjavík in Iceland built a geothermal district heating utility that enabled the inhabitants to transition from coal to geothermal heating. One of the promises that geothermal proponents made to the inhabitants was that the utility would relieve the housewives of their coal stoking duties. In this article, I examine the gender and energy justice implications of the changes in residential energy use in Reykjavík between the 1930s and 1970s. In particular, the role of women in the use of local biofuels and imported coal for household energy needs, the use of hot springs for laundry, and how the introduction of geothermal heating changed the lives of the inhabitants. Housewives mattered for the geothermal transition, which improved their work and lives. Yet the geothermal transition also created new challenges, new injustices among connected and unconnected households, and did not necessarily reduce the workload for women or revolutionize their societal roles. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Reykjavík Reykjavík Maastricht University Research Publications Reykjavík |
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Maastricht University Research Publications |
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ftumaastrichtcri |
language |
English |
description |
Between 1939 and 1944, the City of Reykjavík in Iceland built a geothermal district heating utility that enabled the inhabitants to transition from coal to geothermal heating. One of the promises that geothermal proponents made to the inhabitants was that the utility would relieve the housewives of their coal stoking duties. In this article, I examine the gender and energy justice implications of the changes in residential energy use in Reykjavík between the 1930s and 1970s. In particular, the role of women in the use of local biofuels and imported coal for household energy needs, the use of hot springs for laundry, and how the introduction of geothermal heating changed the lives of the inhabitants. Housewives mattered for the geothermal transition, which improved their work and lives. Yet the geothermal transition also created new challenges, new injustices among connected and unconnected households, and did not necessarily reduce the workload for women or revolutionize their societal roles. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Melsted, Odinn |
spellingShingle |
Melsted, Odinn Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
author_facet |
Melsted, Odinn |
author_sort |
Melsted, Odinn |
title |
Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
title_short |
Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
title_full |
Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
title_fullStr |
Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
title_full_unstemmed |
Relieving the Housewife:Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
title_sort |
relieving the housewife:gender and the promise of geothermal district heating in reykjavík, 1930s–1970s |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/3c80d32b-f409-42a1-97b1-11b972f7de2e http://www.energyhistory.eu/en/special-issue/relieving-housewife-gender-and-promise-geothermal-district-heating-reykjavik-1930s |
geographic |
Reykjavík |
geographic_facet |
Reykjavík |
genre |
Iceland Reykjavík Reykjavík |
genre_facet |
Iceland Reykjavík Reykjavík |
op_source |
Melsted , O 2021 , ' Relieving the Housewife : Gender and the Promise of Geothermal District Heating in Reykjavík, 1930s–1970s ' , Journal of Energy History , no. 6 . < http://www.energyhistory.eu/en/special-issue/relieving-housewife-gender-and-promise-geothermal-district-heating-reykjavik-1930s > |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1766039950995750912 |